British lawmakers set to vote on Heathrow Airport runway plan

LONDON: British lawmakers will vote on whether to build a new runway at London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday, potentially paving the way for the airport’s expansion after decades of delays and policy U-turns.
The government is expected to win the vote, although the result could be close on the issue which has split lawmakers regardless of their party lines, with some opposed to the extra noise and air pollution it will bring to London.
Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport but is now operating at full capacity. A £14 billion plan to build a third runway faces opposition from local communities and environmentalists, but its backers say it is needed to enable new trade links and help secure economic growth.
The decision to expand Heathrow follows almost half a century of indecision on how and where to add new airport capacity in densely populated southeast England. If it goes ahead, it will be the first full-length runway built in the London area for 70 years.
Despite the opposition, which saw the resignation of trade minister Greg Hands from the government last Thursday, the vote is expected to pass because the opposition Labour party said this week its MPs will be given free rein to vote with the government.
However, if the Scottish National Party votes against the government, which the BBC reported was a possibility, it could make the outcome close.
Heathrow’s most high-profile opponent, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, who once said he would lie down in front of bulldozers to stop the expansion, may be out of Britain on Monday and so not attend the vote in parliament.
Even if lawmakers approve the plan, it could still face a legal challenge from a group of local councils, and last week, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he would join the action against the third runway if parliament voted to approve it.

Oil slips even as OPEC mulls cut

US crude stockpiles have grown for eight straight weeks, and data last week showed inventories swelled by the most in more than a year

A trade dispute between the US and China is one reason investors are a lot warier about the outlook for oil demand growth next year

Updated 21 min 24 sec ago

Reuters

November 20, 2018 00:24

0

NEW YORK: Oil futures fell about 1 percent on Monday amid global oversupply worries, but losses were muted as investors eyed potential sanctions on Iran from the EU, a possible production cut from OPEC and slightly bullish storage drawdown in US crude stocks.
Brent crude was down 70 cents a barrel at $66.06 at 4:37 p.m. GMT, having recovered from a session low at $65.27. US crude futures traded 15 cents lower at $56.31 a barrel.
EU foreign ministers endorsed a French government decision to sanction Iranian nationals accused of a bomb plot in France, potentially allowing the measures to take effect across the bloc, three diplomats said.
Potential sanctions from the EU would come as the US has granted waivers to some of Iran’s oil customers, muting the policy’s expected impact on global supplies.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, is pushing for the group and its partners to reduce output by 1 million to 1.4 million barrels per day to prevent a build-up of unused fuel.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia, which is not an OPEC member, planned to sign a partnership agreement with the group, and that details would be discussed at OPEC’s Dec. 6 meeting in Vienna.
“For a cut to be successful in supporting the market, they’re going to have to present a front that is not fractured and the chance of that is looking less and less likely as Dec. 6 approaches,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.
While a large cut would be supportive of crude futures, clear signals from producers are needed to lift prices notably, Yawger said. “We lack any certainty other than that the market is oversupplied in the US and everybody else is trying to deal with it.”
US crude stockpiles have grown for eight straight weeks, and data last week showed inventories swelled by the most in more than a year, weighing on the market.
Traders said futures pared losses on bullish stockpile data Monday as they said that energy information provider Genscape reported that crude inventories fell in the week ended Friday.
Brent is almost 25 percent below early October’s 2018 peak of $86.74, as evidence of slowing demand has materialized and output from the US, Russia and Saudi Arabia hit historic highs.
“Oil prices rose (last week) on the hope that OPEC and partners will act to reverse bearish sentiment, but from a technical set-up, bear mode remains intact,” OANDA strategist Stephen Innes said.
A trade dispute between the US and China is one reason investors are a lot warier about the outlook for oil demand growth next year.
Fund managers cut their bullish exposure to crude futures and options to the lowest since around mid-2017 this month.
Weekly exchange data shows money managers hold a combined net long position equivalent to around 364 million barrels of US and Brent crude futures and options, down from over 800 million barrels two months ago.
“The main trend remains bearish as investors no longer believe in a risk of supply tightness for crude,” ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa said.